Aeronautical information publication  (AIP) is the package of data originating from multiple sources that makes air navigation possible. For example, pilots can know which part of the air space they can use (the airway, similar to a road on the ground), what obstacles there are, whether they are following the correct route (radio aids), whether they are going to encounter fog or wind (meteorological information), if there are other aircraft and where they are, etc. The Aeronautical Information Services (AIS) in each country gather, verify and disseminate all of this information.

AIXM is a digital model that is being implemented at airports worldwide. It establishes a common language and system among the different Aeronautical Information Services in each country. Not just to codify aeronautical information but also to manage, distribute and verify the information and provide traceability from source to publication.

Ineco and ADAC teams after the project kick-off meeting in February 2018. / PHOTO_ADAC

In 2018, the government airport manager, ADAC (Abu Dhabi Airports Company) commissioned Ineco to research the process to implement AIXM services at its airports and the impact on its existing systems. The analysis also identified what would need to be done under ATM (air traffic management) requirements and to address the ADAC environment, but also to identify the gaps in its existing systems.

Ineco had worked previously in the emirate: from 2014 to 2019 it worked with Aena Internacional on operational readiness and transition (ORAT) for the new MTC (Mildfield Terminal Complex) at Abu Dhabi International Airport. Similarly, from 2015 to 2019 Ineco worked in collaboration with PMDC as project manager on the expansion of Fujairha Airport, also for ADAC.

AIXM is a file format for modelling and exchange of aeronautical information in digital format for global use

The Ineco study

To assess the implementation of AIXM in Abu Dhabi’s airports, we started by reviewing data management based on the current situation. We identified the different sources of information and determined what process was being used for the communication with the Emirates civil aviation authority (GCAA) for each AIRAC (Aeronautical Information Regulation and Control) cycle, (an aeronautical information system that shows operational changes to facilities, services and procedures, published every 28 days) for permanent changes; and notification of temporary changes or NOTAM.

Various processes were also reviewed, such as the preflight information service, flight planning, management of NOTAM information, the collection and publication of aeronautical information from Abu Dhabi’s airports, etc.

Controllers at Abu Dhabi International Airport. PHOTO_ADAC

The next task was to test the implementation of AIXM, which incorporates a definition of the data chain, including data originators and aeronautical information itself, commercial providers and end users. That definition introduced two key concepts for aeronautical information: timeliness and quality, on which the efficiency of the process depends to a large extent. Key performance indicators (KPI) were also set, measured at the time and projected following implementation of the model.

Subsequently, a number of scenarios for AIXM implementation within ADAC were defined and a transition plan was developed. For the scenarios, various lines of communication were reviewed and analysed: between ADAC/AIS and Civil Aviation, between the airports and ADAC, between ADAC and air traffic control, and others. Having determined that continuity of the client’s business during the change was essential, functionality, maintainability and safety indicators were established, based on the ISO/IEC 25000 standard.

The control tower, 110 metres tall and opened in 2011. / PHOTO_GERT MEWES (FLICKR)

With the aim of selecting the best option for each line of communication, Ineco prepared a questionnaire for stakeholders. Based on the answers to the questionnaire, we fine-tuned and selected a final scenario for each line of communication. The final step consisted in drawing up the technical and operational specifications for ADAC to launch a bidding process for the installation and commissioning of a fully AIXM-compatible system. We also drew up a human resources plan and listed the suppliers of the tools in the model.

Apps that predict the location of traffic jams; optimised street lighting and irrigation for green spaces; train stations that communicate with taxi and bike operators; smart airports that recognise passengers; and digitalised ports that connect ships to the power grid to reduce their engine emissions… The functionalities provided by artificial intelligence, Big Data and robotics are already a reality that is transforming the mobility of our cities, which, according to the UN, are home to 55% of the world’s population. The goal is to exploit all of our technological resources to make them more efficient and, above all, more sustainable and environmentally-friendly.

With this in mind, the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) convened the tenth session of the World Urban Forum, which was hosted by the emirate of Abu Dhabi from the 8 to 13 February 2020. A group of businesses backed by the Ministry for Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda together operated a 100m² stand at the event: Adif, Aena, Puertos del Estado, Renfe and Ineco were among those in attendance to present their proposals for more sustainable, inclusive, safe and resilient cities.

The forum, under the motto of Cities of Opportunities: Connecting Culture and Innovation, is the principal international stage for debating and sharing experiences related to urban issues

At the forum, the Spanish government also presented Spain’s Urban Agenda, the result of its commitment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The Agenda, approved in 2019, is a roadmap that aims to guide all of Spain’s towns and cities, regardless of their size, towards a more economically, socially and environmentally equitable, integrated and sustainable future by the year 2030. The Agenda offers a Decalogue of Strategic Goals, which, in turn, feature a total of 30 specific goals and 291 lines of action.

The forum, under the motto of ‘Cities of Opportunities: Connecting Culture and Innovation’, is the principal international stage for debating and sharing experiences related to urban issues The event was attended by more than 18,000 delegates from approximately 170 countries, representing mostly institutions, ranging from national and local governments, non-governmental organisations, the private sector and the academic world.

One of the organisations in attendance was Spanish railway operator Renfe. The rail operator, which presented the Haramain project at the stand, is working on its new ‘mobility as a service’, ‘Renfe as a Service (RaaS)’ platform back in Spain. The platform aims to integrate different modes of both public and private transport into one single application.

In addition, Puertos del Estado, which comprises and coordinates the 28 port authorities in charge of Spain’s 46 ports, presented its Ports 4.0 project. The Ports 4.0 project establishes an equity fund to finance innovative projects in new technologies and business models based on the 4.0 economy, via a public requests for tenders.

In the aviation sector, Spanish airport operator Aena is focusing on the concept of smart airports: its lines of action include a pilot project for biometric technology and digital identity (facial recognition) at its Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport and its airport in Menorca, as well as testing drones for different uses within the airport environment.

Adif, Spain’s railway infrastructure administrator, has activated a plan to digitalise its network of long-distance and AVE train stations, aiming to convert them into ‘intelligent stations’ that will connect to other transport systems and different city services. 

Smart projects from Ineco

Cityneco: LAUNCHED IN GRANADA

The Director of Ineco, José Ángel Higueras, (first from the right) presents the Cityneco model to the Ministry of Transport’s Deputy Director of Urban Policy, Ángela de la Cruz (centre). / PHOTO_INECO + LUMIERE ADVERTISERS

Ineco demonstrated its Cityneco Mobility model at the stand. The model city, constructed from Lego pieces, allowed delegates to observe the functions of its Cityneco platform through its augmented reality application. The company developed the technology platform for the smart management of different urban services in 2016, as part of an innovation project in which it partnered with the Granada City Council to pilot the platform in the city. The platform has since been updated to a new version 2.0.

Specifically designed to facilitate mobility, the model’s modular architecture and layered structure make it easily scalable and interoperable. A Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) version makes Cityneco available to medium-sized cities without their own infrastructure.

A visitor tests virtual reality glasses. / PHOTO_INECO + LUMIERE ADVERTISERS

The platform features several vertical modules, one for each of a local council or organisation’s management areas. Its modular architecture facilitates the incorporation of new vertical levels to adapt to new requirements. Its IoT functionality (the Internet of Things), allows it to connect to sensors located throughout the city while simultaneously integrating and processing multiple sources of information, from social networks to video feed.

The information is displayed simply and intuitively through dashboards, based on both real-time data and management indicators, and in the case of mobility, with a GIS viewer (Geographical Information System).

A connected campus for the University of Almería

The University of Almería (UAL), founded in 1993, is not the first Spanish university to introduce smart-management projects for its services and infrastructure, but it is the first to have a Master Plan for their implementation, which it asked Ineco to design. With a few methodological adjustments, the document incorporates smart-management proposals similar to those that would be applied to a small city.

The work, which was carried out over the course of 2019, includes a model for a smart campus, a diagnosis of the University’s current state of technological or smart development, the objective to be achieved and a roadmap of necessary actions.

View of the UAL campus. / PHOTO_UAL

At just over five kilometres east of the city of Almería and a few meters from the sea, the UAL is a small to medium-sized public university situated very close to the Natural Park of Cabo de Gata-Níjar. Despite being located in a water-deficient province, the university benefits from abundant sunshine and regular winds that it can use to obtain clean energy. The plan, therefore, concentrates on environmental initiatives to create a green smart-campus with particular emphasis placed on optimising its water and energy consumption. Given its location outside of the city centre, which makes access on foot difficult and generates high levels of private vehicle use, another priority is to improve the university’s mobility framework.

The UAL is the first Spanish university to have a Master Plan for the implementation of SMART-MANAGEMENT initiatives thanks to Ineco

In total, the plan covers 21 services, grouped in nine sub-areas: urban environment (maintenance and irrigation of gardens, air quality, noise and light pollution), waste management (cleaning roads and buildings, and waste collection), energy (electricity and gas consumption in buildings, public lighting, clean energy generation), water (water consumption and quality, sanitation and sewage network management), parking (car park management), traffic control (vehicle influx, internal bicycle and scooter traffic, charging points for electric vehicles, information on modes of transport), accessibility, public infrastructure and urban equipment, (management and maintenance, incident detection) and an innovation ecosystem.

Below: bicycles parked in front of lecture theatre IV; promoting sustainable mobility is a cornerstone of the plan. / PHOTO_UAL

In order to establish the current technological advancement of the services, six levels were defined: basic, initiation (UAL’s current level) intermediate, advanced, very advanced and connected. The objective is to reach the ‘connected’ level, which specifies that at least 80% of the services must be interconnected.

The Master Plan includes indicators to measure UAL’s smart progress and establishes a Steering and Coordination Committee and a Monitoring Committee, as well as suggesting a two-yearly revision of the document to keep it up to date.

Ineco participated in the Spanish pavilion at the 26th edition of the World Road Congress held in Abu Dhabi from 6 to 10 October. With the participation of more than 1,200 international experts, the Spanish pavilion hosted a presentation of Ineco’s RONIN project –a tool for comprehensive road safety management– and its A-76 motorway project, in which Ineco has, for the first time in Spain, integrated BIM methodology with the GIS system on a road infrastructure.

The company is carrying out the project management and supervision of the design and construction of the enlargement works of Fujairah international airport, in Abu Dhabi (UAE), which plans to triple its cargo operations over the next decade.
Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), the project developer, has taken charge of the works to adapt the infrastructure to the predicted growth and their implementation is planned for the end of the year 2018.

The works to be performed by Ineco along with its partner PMDC (Project Management and Design Consultants) involve the comprehensive management of the project and the supervision of works, which include the building of a new air traffic control tower, the enlargement of the runway, and the building of a new emergency runway, as well as new rapid exit taxiways. Furthermore, the traffic guidance equipment and the meteorological system will be completely updated, a new electrical power plant and substations will be built and the existing CNS systems will be improved (ILS, DVOR). Ineco’s tasks cover both the project management –control of deadlines, costs and contractual aspects– and the supervision of the whole project, from the design phase to construction and implementation.

Ineco is managing and supervising the expansion work being carried out on Fujairah Airport in the United Arab Emirates alongside its partner PMDC (Project Management and Development Consultants). The project awarded by Abu Dhabi Airports (ADAC) will be carried out over a period of three years; the contract includes enlargement of the current runway as well as construction of a control tower, a taxiway, an electrical substation, a fire station and new navigation aids.

The Emirate of Fujairah presently finds itself immersed in a plan for tourism development in the region, in which the airport’s expansion plays a key role. In addition to this project, Ineco has also been in charge of the Operational Readiness and Transfer (ORAT) of the new Abu Dhabi international airport terminal infrastructure, the Midfield Terminal Complex, alongside Aena since 2014. The company has also had the support of a branch office in Abu Dhabi since 2014 which attends to the UAE as well as to the rest of the countries that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).